While the immigration bill, studied by the joint committee since Monday, intends to further facilitate the expulsions of illegal foreigners, franceinfo gives the floor to three undocumented people who are or have been subject to an OQTF .
In total, there were 65,076 foreigners in an irregular situation to receive an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) in the first half of 2022, according to the annual report of the general controller of places of deprivation of liberty. This removal measure is the most pronounced by the administrative authority, although its execution rate decreases from year to year: from 16.7% in 2011, it increased to 6.9% in 2020, according to a information report by senator (LR) François-Noël Buffet published in May 2022.
While the controversial bill on immigration, studied by a joint joint committee since Monday December 18, intends to further facilitate the expulsions of irregular foreigners, franceinfo gives the floor to three undocumented people who are or have been under the influence of ‘an OQTF. They talk about their life in France, talking about their work, their administrative career and their anxiety in the face of possible expulsion.
Issa, 32 years old: “My employers need arms”
“I feel like I’m always in danger. When I leave my house, I only have one fear: running into a police check.”, explains Issa*, in a nervous voice. This 32-year-old Malian has been required to leave French territory since March. “I only think about that, even at night”he whispers.
Issa set foot on French soil for the first time on December 8, 2018. He quickly took on odd jobs in the Paris region. First in the hotel industry, where he cleaned the rooms, then in the building. At the end of 2022, he obtained a position as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant in the center of Paris. “Diving is really hard, especially for the hands and the back: you stand for a very long time.” After helping out with the cooks, he ended up being appointed clerk. “I learn quickly: someone shows me something once, twice, and it’s good,” assures Issa.
The young man stayed six months in this brand, before being hired in a restaurant in the 16th arrondissement, where he still works, as a cook. His successive employers all knew perfectly well that he was undocumented. “But they need arms”he notes.
“We like to make people believe that we don’t need immigrants in France, but that’s not what I observed.”
Issa, undocumented migrant subject to an OQTFat franceinfo
Like many illegal aliens, he provided his employers with the passport of an acquaintance, who agreed to his use of his identity. To comply, the young Malian made a request for regularization at the end of 2022. He was rather optimistic about the response: he suffers from chronic hepatitis B and can therefore claim a residence permit as a ” sick foreigner. To benefit from it, however, he must prove that he cannot have access to his treatment (an antiviral that he takes daily) in his country of origin, as the government explains on its site, which he has done, with the help of his lawyer, who relies on the testimony of the laboratory manufacturing the treatment in question.
Despite these elements, the French Office for Immigration and Integration still certified that the young man could seek treatment in his country: he therefore suffered a refusal of his request for a residence permit, accompanied by an OQTF, in March. “It’s very violent, I have it very bad lived”, explains Issa. He immediately filed an appeal before the administrative court, which was rejected at the beginning of December, with the court reaffirming that it is possible for him to obtain his treatment. “It is enough for a pharmacy in the country to provide any antiviral for it to be considered treatable”, sighs his lawyer, Louis Maillard. The latter believes that he is “increasingly complicated to obtain a residence permit for medical reasons”.
Youcef, 35 years old: “A huge shock”
Youcef* obtained a first residence permit as the spouse of a French person in 2019, three years after his arrival in France. Previously, this 35-year-old Algerian had done odd jobs on the black market. “I took everything I found: moving, cleaning terraces, pruning in gardens, or even markets”he says.
After separating from his wife, he made a new request to the Rhône prefecture, at the beginning of 2022, this time, to obtain an employee residence permit. He received a receipt, renewed throughout the processing of his application, which allowed him to work on a permanent contract as a forklift driver in a supermarket in Villefranche-sur-Saône (Rhône), where he prepared orders.
However, in April, he received a refusal, accompanied by an OQTF. “It was a huge shock”, he said in a trembling voice. He immediately contacted a lawyer to be able to file an appeal before the administrative court. But he had to wait six months to get a response. He informed his boss, who fired him, not agreeing to keep an employee in an irregular situation. His life turned upside down in anguish.
“I had fully furnished my apartment a few months before, on credit. And I could not collect unemployment, as I was illegal.”
Youcef
at franceinfo
He called his electricity supplier to negotiate a schedule, and made the same approach to his social landlord. To eat, he claims to have gone to Restos du coeur. Finally, on October 5, the good news came: the administrative court annulled the prefecture’s decision, forcing it to issue Youcef with an employee residence permit. But the thirty-year-old is still waiting to receive his receipt to be able to return to work. “However, I know that we need forklift operators, I receive a lot of offers from temp agencies”, he emphasizes. In the meantime, he has registered on a service site, where he offers to do small jobs.
Milena, 25 years old: “I watch the news every day to see where the law stands”
Milena* arrived from Kosovo at the age of 23, in January 2021. She has come a long way: while the young woman thought she would meet “the man of her life”, a Frenchman from Colmar (Haut-Rhin), with whom she had communicated for several months on a dating site, she discovered that he was married. She assures that this man, who ended up leaving her, was violent with her on several occasions.
Milena had to live in emergency accommodation. After several months “very difficult psychologically“, she found a job as a waitress in a restaurant in downtown Colmar, which helps her get her head above water. “I love my job, I really enjoy contact with customers”she confides.
However, while she had sent a first request for regularization shortly after her arrival in France, Milena encountered a refusal from the prefecture, accompanied by an OQTF, in September 2021. The measure is enforceable for one year: if she had been checked within this period of time, she could have been placed in a detention center and then sent home. “People under OQTF hide, don’t tell anyone their real address. They are afraid to go out. It’s an almost clandestine life.” notes his lawyer, Christophe Roussel, specialist in immigration law.
Since then, the young woman has lived in irregularity. Like Issa, she hopes to soon be able to apply for a residence permit again. She expects a lot from the immigration bill. The initial text proposed to regularize, under certain conditions, employees working in so-called “shortage” professions, where there is a shortage of labor. Several representatives of the hotel/restaurant sector are campaigning for their professions to be better represented in this list to facilitate the hiring of foreign workers. Milena could thus benefit from this new provision. “Every evening, I think about it before going to sleep… I watch the news every day to see where the law stands”said the young woman, feverishly.
*First names have been changed.